North Park, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOR : North Park, San Diego, California
North Park is a neighborhood in San Diego, California, USA. It is situated to the northeast of Balboa Park, bounded on the north by El Cajon Boulevard, on the south by a canyon extending eastward from the Balboa Park Golf Course, on the east by Interstate 805 and City Heights, and on the west by Florida Canyon and Hillcrest. (As a side note, the pre-Interstate 805 boundary of North Park was widely considered to be 35th Street, which is now part of City Heights)
The North Park sign can be seen above 30th Street and University Avenue, and this intersection is often considered to be the heart of the neighborhood.
North Park is composed of many subneighborhoods, including Burlingame and Altadena.
North Park is served by a business improvement district called North Park Main Street.http://www.northparkmainstreet.com/
In recent years, North Park has faced gentrification and rapidly increasing housing prices.
Arts, Culture and Cuisine
Ray Street, a small street containing a number of art galleries, hosts "Ray Street at Night" on the second Saturday evening of each month. Most of the galleries provide free wine, cheese and music. In addition, Ray Street regularly features dance or music recitals in one of the businesses along this street.
Nearby, the North Park Theatre reopened after major renovations in 2005. It is now the home of Lyric opera san diego.
North Park has a farmers market every Thursday evening on North Park Way. (The farmers market is currently closed and will resume on April 2007)
Restaurants with diverse cuisines, as well as independent coffee shops, can be found along the main arteries of 30th Street and University Avenue. The area is also dotted with bars and night clubs that cater to heterosexual and homosexual patrons alike.
North Park, along with the Hillcrest and University Heights areas of San Diego, has a sizable gay community.
Transportation in North Park
North Park is served by California State Route 805, which is accessible from the University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard exits.University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard are the major east-west thoroughfares in North Park. University Avenue leads west to Hillcrest and east to City Heights and La Mesa. El Cajon Boulevard leads west to Washington Avenue and Mission Hills and continues east to the city of El Cajon. Florida Street connects North Park to Downtown San Diego through Florida Canyon in Balboa Park to the south, and to Adams Avenue and University Heights to the north. 30th Street connects North Park to Adams Avenue and Normal Heights to the north, and to South Park and Golden Hill to the south. Texas Street heads north directly into Mission Valley.
There is ample bus service connecting to Downtown as well as to the transportation hub in Old Town, San Diego. North Park has the busiest bus line corridor in the city, known as the University Avenue transit corridor.
Crash of PSA Flight 182
North Park was the site of California's worst aviation accident to date when, on September 25, 1978, PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727-214 jetliner, crashed near the intersection of Dwight and Nile streets after colliding in midair with a Cessna 172 aircraft. The disaster killed 144 persons, including all 135 passengers and crew members on board the PSA jet, both occupants of the Cessna, and 7 persons on the ground in North Park. Nine other people on the ground were injured and 22 homes in the neighborhood were destroyed or damaged.
Reference
External links
- [Unofficial neighborhood web site]
- [North Park Community Association]
- [Ray at Night]
- [New To San Diego]
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